Brand Loyalty

I try to avoid hype and buy products on their merits.  Brands are corporations, not your friend.

Although I do need to branch out on tyres...

Edit: I articulated my thoughts poorly but I think in general, reciprocity is largely dead these days.  And I don't buy enough of anything to be important enough for a brand to be "loyal" to me in return.

Been using Hope stuff for 25+ years. Got to know Simon (founder RIP) and have visited the factories a few times.
Good stuff made by a company with a good ethos who look after their customers and employees.
 

Being helped and treated right thru warranties is the way to earn my loyalty. The worst feeling in MTB is when your shit breaks. It makes it much more bearable when you know you can go home, send an email to get yourself sorted. 

Brands just need to make what I want, and it needs to work. And being poor if they do it for cheaper that's always a bonus. For parts I wouldn't say I'm too picky but with how Deore performs I'm a fanboy for sure. Would like to try CUES eventually as well. Also love the Float shock's 3 position switch and a cheap Bomber fork. That's the best value build in the industry.

Frames wise, I am a Kona fanboy but bow it's getting hard for obvious reasons. If they really do re-release the base 134 that's epic and I might try to pick one up as basically the last dual 27 and 425mm chainstay FS bike in the industry. Might as well be a piece of history at that point lol.

If Kona moves away from that I'd happily support Marin with their Rift Zone and San Quentin line ups in 275. I like play bikes. And near as I can tell the entire industry has given up on that genre. Although it was nice to see Norco releasing MX versions with short chainstays on their new bikes. Not EVERY bike needs to be a long slack n low dual 29er winnebago that does all the riding for you unless you're ready to risk it at mach chicken -_- 

I try sevral brands of tires, adn can have bikepark setup with one brand and more trail.enduro with another, no issue, same with some suspension.. but a bike that pedals, always shimano.. if I snatch SRAM gx for my bike to smash bikepark laps, np..I would say more than loyal, I have no-go zones (no sram brakes, no sram drivetrain nor tramission, ever).

I am a shigura loyal ; )

This is why I own 3 transitions.  

I boycotted SRAM a decade ago and just bought my third Knolly frame.  I stick with what I know works and avoid the new standards as much as possible.  

I got a weird nostalgia boner for brands that were the shit when I was a kid, so Hadley hubs, White industries, Mavic etc. Their modern stuff doesn't have the same glow unfortunately.

I almost religiously run shimano drivetrains & brakes

this right here.  a good bike from a company will earn a customer. good support from the company when something goes wrong turns them into a repeat customer. 

If i have a choice i have brands ill take over other.I will always take Shimano over SRAM brakes.

SRAM over FOX mostly due to availability of parts

Shimano over SRAM drivetrain just prefer Shimano shifters.

DT swiss hubs. They just work and if all the same I can swap drivers if needed.

I will always support properly made Products that are sensibly Priced. Oneup are a good example of this.

Trend's are Often something that Annoys me, Especially Downtube storage, This is such a Silly idea that has no real benefit except looking cool - adds weight and a heap of stiffness in an area that doesnt need it. same as this argument about chainstay length, it does effect the bike yes but learn to ride properly and you will love shorter ones. Sram's Transmission is good, but it suits 0.01% of any proper MTB'er and is far to expensive.

Brand fanboys Are terrible and will always argue their love is the best thing even if its a rubbish product.

I dont care about brand's, ill buy whats good & priced well(some exceptions that some better stuff does cost more)
 

 

I don’t really think I have brand loyalty but I will stay away from some brands like e13, crank brothers, specialized and Tune based on my own experience with some of their products and in the case of Tune because the importer in my country seems to be a complete asshat. I just can’t bring myself to buy anything specialized after that whole petty “roubaix” thing. I was given a pair of 2fo flat shoes by my wife and they’re very good but it doesn’t count because I didn’t buy them myself damn it! Won’t buy fox suspension either but that’s only because of the silly pricing in Europe. I’d be open to it if it was similarly priced to something like rockshox or manitou. I’ve had it in the past and it worked fine. 

I’ve had very good experiences with WTB warranty/customer service/good will in the past and their saddles happen to work well for me so I tend to buy those over something else. Brand loyalty after all I guess. 

That's a good point. At the end of the day, brands don't survive if they are awful so most successful brands are actually quite good overall. The more interesting thing is brands with horrible CS or QA that people won't touch with a ten foot pole. And within that context, I did have an iffy moment with Kona while they were under different ownership and during that outrageous BOGO sale. So I'm trying not to hold it against them outright.

Supporting local brands is another level of loyalty IMO. Your friends and neighbors might be employed by them For me in the southeast area that's cane creek and industry 9

I usually get sold on a brand due to their customer care. Cannondale screwed me over and made a handful of empty promises to me as a 12 year old, I’m now 36, and have made sure to go out of my way to never buy a single Cannondale related product, and steer everyone I had the chance to, away from a Cannondale product.

On the flip side, I needed a bike in a hurry earlier this year and bought a used Banshee. I emailed their generic email address asking about shock tunes as the stock shock was blown. Within 24 hours I had an email back with recommended models of shocks and why, suggested tunes for each brand, kinematic and leverage rate graphs for my frame and a thank you for buying a Bansheee, even though I was a second owner. That sold me pretty hard and provided some comfort in knowing they actually support their product.

VitalMTB til I die. 

I've been riding so long(34 years) that some things I just buy without really thinking about it.  They've proven themselves in the past and I like parts that hold up.  I avoid anything from SRAM or their sub-brands due to their past, even though I'm sure they have some fine parts now.  I just don't trust them due to my impression of their corporate mentality and I can get good parts elsewhere.  I try frames when the time comes for a new bike and if I like how the bike works I get a frame and build it up...so no real loyalty there.  I've been on Trek, Intense, Cove, Salsa, Ibis, Guerrilla Gravity, and Transition.  They've all been good bikes.  I've test-ridden more than that and there are tons more I'd love to try.

Spesh will never get any of my money for the same reason, as well as the Mike's Bikes thing and the way they've treated employees at the LBS's  they've bought. 

Hayes (brakes), Bike Yoke (droppers) have been amazing and I'll continue to buy their stuff (Bike Yoke in particular because of serviceability and keeping their stuff backwards-compatible).

I had a Shred Dogg and a Gnarvana.  A bunch of those parts went to the Transition.  I'm happy with my Transition so far, but I just built it up earlier this year.  No issues yet.  I've been on my Ibis Ripmo for soon-to-be 6 years.  I've had no issues that weren't dealt with very quickly by warranty and I've enjoyed the bike immensely.  I have no reservations about them at all and would have gotten an HD6 except I wanted two distinct feeling bikes.  Before I got my Ripmo(gift from my wife, btw), I had a neighbor who bought an older used Mojo before finding a crack on the chainstay pivot area.  He called Ibis about a replacement and they sent him one for free even though he wasn't the original owner.  When the Ripmo finally passes away, I'll likely be looking at Ibis to replace it...or possibly Pivot if they'll drop the press-fit bb crap.  I like the DW-link.  

I have to keep two primary bikes for when one has an issue...I can just ride the other while waiting on parts.  I alternate riding them in general.  This week it's the Transition's turn.

Half assed answer: It depends. I am a fan of what Manitou has been putting out the last decade or so and will default to at least their forks on a new build (frame up or complete). Same for Shimano mechanical drivetrains. Other components I am not as brand loyal. If it fits and works as intended I may buy again, but I may not depending on lower price but similar properties from other makers. I still feel the best warranty is the one you never have to use, but it's nice for a co to have your back should things go akimbo. I try to be reasonable with my expectations on product longevity under my given use so don't really use warranty much at all. However, I do dig when a co has a prompt and knowledgeable tech support staff. Not that I need that much these days, but I've had good responses from a couple co's that earned them a position on the 'may buy/continue to buy in the future' board.

Owning my own business made me accutely aware of shifting my loyalties away from corporations whenever possible.
My brand loyalty used to lie firmly w/ Turner Bikes b/c no one has ever treated customers better than DT.

Have ALWAYS supported Hayes when possible.  They went out of their way for decades to support me & us.
Specialized, even though former friends, shops, even employees/acquantances were part of the brand always leaves me feeling "empty".
Never had an emotional connection to the company or the brand.
  
Oddly enough, I ride a 2022 Kona Process 153 27.5 full time. I'm short & my adventures with 29er left my balls stripped of fur.
Their rep at the time was garbage but it was the dimensions and wheel size I wanted to have fun on trails I've ridden for 20+ years. 
They proved themselves to be garbage in the warranty department on my 2019 Process 153. I don't support the company, their ethic...nothing.
I ride this thing because it's the exact size, suspension travel & wheel size I prefer.  Would LOVE if anyone with a love of riders made this thing.

SRAM supported us for years, but it was the regional guys, and we loved them. So we loved their product right back. But we also got tossed TONS of replacements.  Could have never supported their growing pains if I was a retail customer back when.  I don't really support them now even though quite a bit of OEM SRAM stuff sits on my bikes.  
Shimano product, despite being far, far away...I almost feel a personal connection to.  
But it's because they do such a great job of educating all the bike shop guys and mechanics of the highest level (who I respect) back them.  

All of this being said...if I had the money to custom order a Brent Foes or Jeff Steber special edition one off bike made just for me with Push suspension, Hope components, Crank Brothers pedals & Thomson bits I'd do it every time.  All privately owned company machined bits & pieces top to bottom. 

I'm loyal to hard working individuals.

 

I built up an Ibis HD4 frame years ago and had issues with a lower pivot creaking. After reassembling and torqueing to spec, the issue persisted so I dropped in to their factory with no notice/appointment to see if they had some advice. The guy at the front desk called someone on the phone, and a dude came down from his office to see what the issue was. He told me that he had engineered the frame and acknowledged that the torque spec had proven to be too low. He put my bike in the stand and replaced the (titanium) hardware at no cost in all of 3 minutes and apologized for the inconvenience. Proximity to my home made this easy, but I'm now an Ibis lifer. (also...Shimano drivetrains) 

I’ve been lucky enough to get to know people at both Chromag and North Shore Billet. I buy their product whenever it suites what I need. Quality and mostly locally manufactured. They give back to the area by supporting riders, trail networks and staff. 
Chris King is somewhat close and makes great product. Have hubs for life. 
Always preferred shimano drivetrain, but have been using sram for electric shifting as it helps with hand issues (no cable throw). Will switch back to shimano once the drop next button shift drivetrain. 

My brand loyalty extends to any bike company that doesn't use pressfit BBs. Or is a co-sponsor ;-)

Should just lock the thread. This comment wins today's internet challenge.

I always give a bit more consideration to products I've had good luck with, in the past. That's currently Transition, Specialized, Hayes & OneUp.

That said, I'm always looking for the next greatest thing.

Weren't a bunch of the questions on the most recent vital user survey designed to get some kind of insight into brand loyalty? I don't remember perfectly but I thought it was a lot of

1. From whom did you buy?

2. From whom are you considering buying? 

Do we get to see some of those data sometime soon? Is this thread a warmup for that? :D I got to learn a little survey design in one of the labs I passed through in school and while taking the vital one wondered if after the collection period was over that we might get a peek at just what kind of stuff they're trying to learn. Because the literal questions that make up the survey don't always reflect the survey maker's desired insights, if that makes sense.

There’s one element you’re forgetting if you do your own work. I have the tools, small parts, lubricants, etc to maintain certain brands and therefore I tend to choose them. I’m a big believer in using the right tool for the job when possible so I tend to stick with the same brands when possible so that I can easily maintain.  

Believing in their mission (Frameworks), supporting local brands (Pivot) or just using products that I’ve found to be superior and worth the additional cost (Trickstuff) also makes a difference but being able to maintain without worry and stock the appropriate backup parts is just as or more important. Don’t care, at all, about anything that others might think about my stuff, good, bad or indifferent. I will buy other brands and products but those purchases get a lot more thought than go to brands do.